No King in Israel (34)

Bible students online differ concerning the extent to which Samson was truly heroic or any kind of role model for believers. The four chapters that chronicle his life and death portray him as impulsive, turbulent and temperamental, driven by his whims and easily pushed off course by events around him. Rarely do we see evidence of serious devotion to the Lord, or the fruit of such a relationship in his life, though there’s absolutely no question the Lord used him, and used him in a major way. Like Jehu centuries later, Samson was a wrecking ball when Israel needed one.

The New Testament portrays Samson as a man who in at least one instance exercised remarkable faith. Even then, in typical Samson style, his faith basically amounted to the conviction that God would make an exception to his own rules by special request …

No King in Israel (32)

Ahab listened to a lying spirit sent out from the presence of God. He consequently perished in battle. It was inevitable. The Lord had purposed to put him to death. He knew Ahab would follow the word of four hundred false prophets telling him exactly what he already wanted to hear rather than one lone man with the truth of God in his mouth.

Thus, the will of God profoundly influenced Ahab without Ahab having the slightest personal insight into it, and without him deriving any benefit from it.

As we will see, our twelfth judge had far too much in common with Ahab.

Baptized and Led

You are a fly resting on the wall of an auditorium. It is not long before you are able to identify the sort of church you are observing by the way its members use certain scriptural language to describe an experience they had, and one they think should be known by more Christians. You hear testimonies of the baptism of the Holy Spirit being experienced, and teaching given that urges members to seek this blessing.

Who would you think you were among?

Anonymous Asks (60)

“How can I tell if it’s my own feelings or the Holy Spirit?”

Depending on the sort of feelings you are talking about, distinguishing between one’s own natural internal impulses and the promptings of the Spirit of God is not always perfectly straightforward. There are many emotional reactions that are completely in harmony with the Spirit.

This is true of the obvious ones like love, peace, joy and so on, but it is also true of emotions some Christians consider more questionable. It is not wrong, for instance, to be angry, vexed, disappointed, perplexed or even jealous when your feelings are aligned with God’s.

On the other hand, it is not the Spirit of God that makes us content to ignore sin in our lives and hearts, even if that feeling seems a comparatively peaceful one.

Quote of the Day (18)

JR sends this gem along:

“As far as the leading of the Spirit, we only need Him to show up for 45 minutes at the breaking of bread to arrange the hymns and, after that, we’re pretty much good to go on our own.”

— Jabe Nicholson

No smart remarks from me today.

I figure I’ll just let that one sit there and burn for a bit.